Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Zhipeng Wu, Qiuzhen Yin, Zhengtang Guo, Andre Berger
Summary: Understanding sea ice variability and mechanisms during warm periods is crucial for comprehending current and future sea ice changes. This study uses the LOVECLIM model to simulate sea ice variations in the last nine interglacials and compares them to present and future conditions. Results show that Arctic sea ice is primarily controlled by local summer insolation, while Southern Ocean sea ice is influenced by CO2 concentration. Interglacials have less sea ice than the present, making them potential analogues for future sea ice changes in the Arctic. However, the higher CO2 concentration in interglacials leads to more sea ice in the Southern Ocean, suggesting that they are not appropriate analogues for the future in this region.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Erica Sparaventi, Araceli Rodriguez-Romero, Andres Barbosa, Laura Ramajo, Antonio Tovar-Sanchez
Summary: Penguins play a crucial role in the Antarctic ecosystem and their excretion products could be a significant source of trace metals in the surface water, with substantial release quantities estimated per breeding season.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lijuan Lu, Xufeng Zheng, Zhong Chen, Wen Yan, Shuzhuang Wu, Li-Wei Zheng, Xuesong Wang, Yu Chen, Shuhji Kao
Summary: The upwelling in the Southern Ocean is closely linked to atmospheric CO2 and climate change, as evidenced by the coupling of productivity variability with atmospheric CO2 concentrations and millennial-scale upwelling timing with Heinrich Stadials and Antarctic warming events.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marion Fourquez, David J. Janssen, Tim M. Conway, Damien Cabanes, Michael J. Ellwood, Matthias Sieber, Scarlett Trimborn, Christel Hassler
Summary: The availability of dissolved iron (dFe) in the Southern Ocean (SO) affects the uptake of atmospheric CO2 by the SO biological pump and has a direct impact on climate. Fe uptake experiments with Phaeocystis antarctica reveal that the range of dFe bioavailability in natural samples is wider than previously thought, with higher bioavailability near glacial sources. The degree of bioavailability is not solely dependent on in situ dFe concentration and depth, challenging the assumption used in modeling studies.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tyler R. Jones, Kurt M. Cuffey, William H. G. Roberts, Bradley R. Markle, Eric J. Steig, C. Max Stevens, Paul J. Valdes, T. J. Fudge, Michael Sigl, Abigail G. Hughes, Valerie Morris, Bruce H. Vaughn, Joshua Garland, Bo M. Vinther, Kevin S. Rozmiarek, Chloe A. Brashear, James W. C. White
Summary: By analyzing water-isotope ratios in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide ice core, researchers have revealed the changes in summer and winter temperatures over the past 11,000 years. The results show that summer temperature variations are primarily related to summer insolation, while winter temperatures are influenced by meridional heat transport. The study also provides evidence for the reduction in ice sheet surface area in West Antarctica, supporting geological constraints in the region.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Adele K. Morrison, Wilma G. C. Huneke, Julia Neme, Paul Spence, Andrew McC. Hogg, Matthew H. England, Stephen M. Griffies
Summary: Winds around the Antarctic continental margin play a significant role in the local ocean stratification and circulation. By using a high-resolution global ocean-sea ice model, this study investigates the impact of zonal and meridional surface winds on the formation of dense shelf water and the temperature of continental shelf waters. The zonal easterly winds drive a southward Ekman transport, cooling the continental shelf. On the other hand, the meridional winds strengthen the abyssal overturning circulation through a sea ice advection mechanism.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2023)
Review
Engineering, Marine
Emma Bazzani, Chiara Lauritano, Maria Saggiomo
Summary: Primary production in the Southern Ocean is limited by the availability of iron, which affects the whole ecosystem and biogeochemistry. There is extensive variability in iron availability between different areas and seasons, as well as co-limitations with other environmental factors. Climate change is altering the Southern Ocean environment, potentially modifying iron supply mechanisms and partially relieving iron stress on phytoplankton. However, the interactions between different environmental changes and their cascade effects are poorly understood, and further research is needed to fully understand this topic.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Marcelo Rodrigues de Souza, Everson Dal Piva
Summary: Extratropical cyclones in the Southern Ocean have been studied in terms of their characteristics, spatial distribution, and cyclogenesis. These cyclones form a belt around the Antarctic continent, with greater concentration in the Southern Ocean sector adjacent to the southern Pacific Ocean. The regions of the Somov, Amundsen, and Bellingshausen seas exhibit a higher track density of moderate and strong cyclones. The HG3 model shows a good ability to represent the main patterns of cyclonic activity, despite underestimating the total number of cyclones in the Southern Ocean.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Matthew H. Pinkerton, Philip W. Boyd, Stacy Deppeler, Alex Hayward, Juan Hofer, Sebastien Moreau
Summary: This paper analyzes trends and future projections of phytoplankton biomass, primary production, and irradiance in the Southern Ocean within the MEASO framework. Satellite observations show an increase in phytoplankton biomass but likely decrease in primary production. Earth system models project increasing NPP in the Northern and Antarctic zones but decreases in the Subantarctic zone over the next 100 years.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Oceanography
Qing Qin, Zhaomin Wang, Chengyan Liu, Chen Cheng
Summary: This study reveals the existence of persistent open-ocean polynyas in the Cooperation Sea and investigates the atmospheric and oceanic mechanisms responsible for their formation. These findings offer a more comprehensive understanding of open-ocean polynyas in the Southern Ocean and have implications for various research fields, such as physical, biological, and biogeochemical studies of the Southern Ocean.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marcos Tonelli, Camila Negrao Signori, Amanda Bendia, Juliana Neiva, Bruno Ferrero, Vivian Pellizari, Ilana Wainer
Summary: The study predicts the potential changes in sea surface temperature in the Southern Ocean using various data and models, and finds that high emission scenarios will lead to a faster human-induced temperature change. It is expected that by the late twenty first century, the diversity of bacteria and archaea in the Antarctic marine environment will be significantly and persistently impacted.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Gabriela Torre, Diego Gaiero, Renata Coppo, Nicolas J. Cosentino, Steven L. Goldstein, Francois De Vleeschouwer, Gael Le Roux, Louise Bolge, Yael Kiro, Andre Oliveira Sawakuchi
Summary: The study investigates the provenance of dust in the Pampean loess in central Argentina, providing insight into the paleo-atmospheric circulation in the Southern Hemisphere. The isotopic analysis reveals that the dust mainly originates from the southern Altiplano and southern Puna, and there is a similarity between the paleo-dust and modern dust sources. The study also suggests that changes in atmospheric transport efficiency may better explain dust flux variations in the loess over glacial/interglacial periods.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Jiayu Wang, Guojie Xu, Liqi Chen, Kui Chen
Summary: The Southern Ocean (SO) and Antarctica have significant impacts on global climate through new particle formation (NPF) which affects cloud reflectance and radiative budget. This review explores the spatial and temporal characteristics of particle number concentration (PNC) and particle number size distribution (PNSD) over the Antarctic. The review also discusses possible precursors and nucleation mechanisms for NPF, as well as the contribution of NPF to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and its indirect impacts on climate in the remote marine boundary layer.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Jia-Jia Chen, Neil C. Swart, Xuhua Cheng
Summary: Since the 1950s, the Southern Ocean has been warming in the south and cooling in the north. The exact drivers of these opposing latitudinal patterns of change were not well understood. However, analysis of atmosphere-ocean general circulation models shows that subsurface cooling in the north is a result of a combination of weak warming from greenhouse gases and cooling forced by aerosols.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sarah Feron, Raul R. Cordero, Alessandro Damiani, Avni Malhotra, Gunther Seckmeyer, Pedro Llanillo
Summary: Projections indicate that summertime warming events in Antarctica will become more frequent, longer-lasting, and significantly increase in number by the end of the century. This anticipated rise in warming events may lead to enhanced surface melt in coastal areas, posing a risk to the future stability of Antarctic ice shelves.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)